BOSTON — The 2022 MIAA state hockey tournament final games were played at TD Garden on Sunday.
New England Hockey Journal has been on hand to take in the action, updating this post with scores and quick summaries.
For more detailed analysis and key storylines, premium content will be available to subscribers in the coming days.
MIAA Hockey State Finals Schedule
9:00 a.m. – Division 4 Boys – Sandwich 3, Watertown 2 (2OT)
11:00 a.m. – Division 3 Boys – Hanover 5, Marlboro 3
1:00 p.m. – Division 2 Girls – Algonquin 2, Canton 1 (OT)
3:15 p.m. – Division 2 Boys – Tewksbury 3, Canton 1
5:45 p.m. – Division 1 Girls – Austin Prep 4, Arlington 1
7:45 p.m. – Division 1 Boys – St. John’s Prep 6, Xaverian 2
Division 4 Boys: Â Sandwich 3, Watertown 2 (2OT)
In the first game of the day, the Sandwich Blue Knights scored in double overtime to win the Division 4 championship after battling back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits. Jack Connolly scored at 1:46 of the second overtime session in 3-on-3 play, rifling a shot past goaltender Casey Williams.
FROM JEFF COX: How Sandwich outlasted Watertown
Watertown's Mason Andrade started the scoring with a power play tally on a backhand rebound he lifted over goaltender Mitchell Norkevicius at 8:34 of the 1st period. Â Sandwich countered with just 8.5 seconds left in the 1st on Colin McIver's shot off the rush that beat starter Jared Norton on the short side.
The two teams traded goals in the second frame. Colin Campbell's breakaway tally gave Watertown a 2-1 lead when he faked backhand, getting Norkevicius to commit, then pulled the puck to his forehand and slid it into the open side at 8:15. Sandwich forward Caleb Richardson answered with a power play strike, beating Norton high glove.
In the third period, Watertown put Williams into the net for Norton, and the teams went scoreless until Connolly sent Sandwich home victorious in sudden death. Watertown held the advantage in shots, 33 to 21.
Division 3 Boys: Hanover 5, Marlboro 3
Hanover defeated Marlboro on the strength of freshman Michael Munroe's two-goal, two-assist effort. Senior captain Robbie Hanna added a pair of goals, including the empty-netter with 41.7 seconds left to lift the Hawks over the Panthers.
FROM JEFF COX: How Hanover got past Marlboro
Hanover took a 2-0 lead in the first period on tallies from Munroe and Hanna, but Marlboro battled back with two goals in under a minute from defenseman Luc Masse and senior captain Marcus Chrisafideis.
In the second period, Thao Lanagan scored for Hanover, but Marlboro pulled even at 3 apiece with a Mark Evangelous score.
Hanover's Max DaSilva broke the tie with a power play goal, standing up as the game-winner to secure the title.
Division 2 Girls: Algonquin 2, Canton 1 (OT)
It took extra hockey to decide the contest between Canton and Algonquin Regional, but sophomore Mallory Farrell took the puck hard to the net, cut across the front of the Canton goal, and put it into the yawning cage for the 2-1 overtime victory.
Regulation was largely a defensive affair as goaltenders Carolyn Durand (Canton) and Lana Pacific stymied the bulk of scoring chances.
Canton junior defender Maya Battista took the puck and cut to the middle of the ice, firing a wrist shot into the net to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 in the final seconds of the 1st period.
With 10 minutes left in regulation, freshman forward Bryn Domolky crashed the net, corralled the rebound of Farrell's initial shot, and put it home, forcing the eventual overtime period.
Farrell finished with the winning goal and an assist, while Pacific made 24 saves in net for the Titans.
Division 2 Boys: Tewksbury 3, Canton 1
After staving off a late-game rally from defending Division 2 champion Canton, Tewksbury earned a 3-1 decision, their ninth in a row after losing a 2-1 game to Wellesley on Feb. 13. Senior defenseman and captain Caden Connors scored two goals and added a helper.
FROM JEFF COX: How Tewksbury delivered revenge to Canton
Tewksbury built a 2-0 lead on 1st period goals from sophomore forward Matthew Cooke and Connors.
The Redmen held the lead through two periods and controlled play for much of the 3rd, but with 7:13 left in the final frame, Canton cut the lead in half on a goal by junior forward A.J. Thomas, who was able to beat Tewksbury's Ben O'Keefe with a shot from the slot.
Connors added an empty-netter at 13:59 of regulation, killing any hopes of a comeback and another championship for the Bulldogs.
Canton freshman goaltender Colin Davis played well, making 22 saves, including several quality stops late in the third period to keep the Bulldogs in striking distance. O'Keefe stopped 22 of 23 Canton shots.
Division 1 Girls: Austin Prep 4, Arlington 1
In an unexpected defensive battle, Austin Prep’s high-powered offense was held in check for much of their matchup against Arlington in the girls Division 1 championship game, but the Cougars held on and got a pair of late goals to seal it.
Having outscored the opposition 152-10 entering this one, it was no surprise that AP struck just 1:23 into the game. Freshman Bree Anderson ripped a hard shot from out near the blue line to make it 1-0. Cougars captain Kathryn Karo then made it 2-0 when she took a pass from 7 in full stride and lifted a high backhander into the net 8:57 into the opening period.
The Spy Ponders answered with about a minute left in the 1st period, when Libby Corsetti found the back of the net. The freshman forward collected the rebound of junior Madeline Krepelka’s sharp-angle shot and jammed it home to make it a 2-1 game after 15 minutes of play.
That’s the way the game remained until late in the third period, thanks to strong defensive play from both teams. Arlington netminder and senior captain Elise Rodd had to be sensational, especially in the final 10 minutes of regulation.
However, the Cougars put the game out of reach on the power play with 2:14 left when junior McKenzie Cerrato scored on assists from Madison Vittands and Maeve Carey. AP added an empty net goal from Isabel Hulse with 52 seconds remaining.
Todd made 22 saves, while Austin Prep's Lauryn Hanafin stopped 17 of 18 Arlington shots.
Boys Division 1: St. John's Prep 6, Xaverian 2
The Division 1 showdown between Catholic Conference rivals St. John's Prep and Xaverian Brothers lived up to high expectations in a back-and-forth contest that saw several lead changes before SJP pulled away in the second period on the strength of Tommy Sarni's four-goal, five-point night.
SJP opened the scoring at 3:13 on the power play when senior Tommy Sarni's shot found the upstairs twine, with assists by Aidan Holland and Will Van Sicklin.
FROM JEFF COX: How St. John's Prep claimed the titleÂ
Xaverian had a quick response, however, as Braden O'Hara made it a 1-1 game just 39 seconds later burying a pass from Jack Silva.
With under 5 minutes remaining in the opening period, SJP's Cole Blaeser received a major penalty for elbowing, but the Eagles' penalty killers were superb, disrupting Xaverian's attack, blocking shots and even generating several quality scoring chances of their own.
In the 2nd period, Xaverian took the lead on a Jake Curley goal to make it 2-1, Hawks.
With 6:29 remaining in the period, Blaeser made up for his earlier penalty by going to the net tying the score with the helper from older brother Pierce Blaeser.
Then, with Xaverian defenseman Shane Heron in the box, SJP got its second power play marker, this time by Holland, assisted by Ben McGilvray and Sarni at 12:16, to make it 3-2.
Sarni added to the lead with a nifty move to make it 4-2 from Cole Blaeser in the final minute of the middle frame with his second goal of the night.
The score held up until Sarni completed the hat trick and adding one more with two empty net goals to close out the scoring.
Senior goalie Payton Palladino stopped 13 Xaverian shots and registered the win, while Brendan Flanagan made 26 saves for the Hawks.
